World Athletics: Great Britain's Phillips Idowu wins triple jump gold in Berlin - Telegraph Athletics World Athletics: Great Britain's Phillips Idowu wins triple jump gold in Berlin Never mind the bolt through his eyebrow and the studs in his tongue. Phillips Idowu can now finally bound into Hackney from the world athletics championships with the metal adornment he has always coveted; a major gold medal. Image 1 of 2 Over the moon: triple jumper Phillips Idowu won Britain's second gold medal at the World Championships in Berlin Photo: GETTY IMAGES Great Briton: Londoner Idowu registerde a personlal best with a jump of 17.73m Photo: AP By Ian Chadband, Chief Sports Correspondent in Berlin 10:47PM BST 18 Aug 2009 One of the great unfulfilled talents of British athletics, the man with his self-styled “pillar-box red” barnet finally delivered here in Berlin when he hopped, stepped and jumped his way to the world triple jump title with a lifetime best leap outdoors.

The 30 year-old, as renowned for his tattoos and body piercings as for his unfair reputation of being a nearly man, at last satisfied long-held expectations – not least his own – as he soared out to 17.73 metres, the longest by anyone this year, to win Britain’s second gold of the week after Jessica Ennis’s heptathlon triumph. “I feel like king of the world!” he exclaimed. “It’s been a long time coming.” It was one of those nights when he makes a deceptively brutal event look easy. “Hop, step, jump, 17.73. Simples!” he chuckled, impersonating a certain TV meerkat. In the process, Idowu also leapt out of the long shadow of Jonathan Edwards, who was watching from the BBC commentary box. Fittingly, the world record holder, former Olympic and twice former world champion will present his successor with gold in the Olympiastadion on Wednesday. “Great,” said Idowu. “It will feel like a changing of the guard.” This was a wonderful performance not least because his first two jumps might have persuaded him it would not be his night again.

Related Articles Can Bolt run 9.4 secs? 18 Aug 2009 Nelson Evora, his Portuguese nemesis, who has beaten him in their last three major competitions, opened with a formidable 17.54m leap and twice Idowu would have soared past him if he had not got his run up wrong. First leap, he came within three centimetres of his target after not even hitting the take-off board; at the second attempt, he again barely touched the board but still recorded 17.44m. Deja vu? At last year’s Olympics, he had lost to Evora by the length of a cigarette. “For the third, I thought, 'Just run, you’re ready to explode’, and it came together,” Idowu said. Despite again being 20cm short of the ideal take-off position, it was a monster. If tight to the plasticine, it would have been close to the jumpers’ holy grail of 18 metres but it surpassed Idowu’s outdoor personal best by five centimetres and forced reigning champion, Evora, to match his own lifetime best to regain the lead.

“I didn’t think I’d done enough and was waiting for someone to come back at me, but God was looking down on me,” pondered Idowu. Evora, so celebrated back home that he even beat Cristiano Ronaldo to the sportsman of the year title, made a fine response with a final leap which Idowu could hardly watch but he was still 18cm shy. This was a triumph for perseverance. Idowu had tried hard to conceal how much it had hurt last year to go unbeaten all season and then to lose the biggest prize of all. Previously, he had won world indoor and Commonwealth titles but they were not enough for him. He had felt so confident last year that he reckoned he felt like Superman; on Tuesday night, draped afterwards in the Union Jack for a cape, he must have had the same sensation, even if his initial blank, morose demeanour on the track told of a man almost in shock. “I just broke down in tears because the moment was very emotional and I needed five minutes to take a breath and realise it. I feel so very good because all my hard work has finally paid off,” he said.

The suspicion was that perhaps Idowu’s best chance of global glory had come and gone after the Beijing Olympics but, after relocating to a new Birmingham base in the winter under the tutelage of the former triple jumper Aston Moore, Idowu was determined to keep fighting. With a view to 2012, here was an unexpected delight. This is now the first world championships since the triple haul in Stuttgart in 1993 when the British team have won more than a single gold. And it has inspired Idowu to pronounce: “I’ve still got that Olympic dream.” Just ideal. Perhaps the sport now has a cool London lad to be the thoroughly modern, bejewelled face of his city’s Olympics.

Phillips Idowu factfile BBC SPORT | Athletics | Idowu wins Britain's second gold Idowu wins Britain's second gold ATHLETICS WORLD CHAMPIONSHIPS Venue: Olympic Stadium, Berlin Date: 15-23 August Coverage: Watch the action live and highlights on BBC Two, BBC HD, Red Button, Radio 5 live and the BBC Sport website (video for UK users only) Full BBC coverage details Highlights - Idowu wins Gold Great Britain's Phillips Idowu clinched triple jump gold at the World Athletics Championships, setting a new personal best of 17.73 metres. Idowu, who won silver at last year's Olympics, edged out Portugal's Nelson Evora, who pipped Idowu in Beijing. However, Olympic champion Christine Ohuruogu could finish only fifth in the final of the women's 400m, with American Sanya Richards taking gold. And David Greene finished seventh in the final of the men's 400m hurdles. The 30-year-old Idowu soared past Evora's mark of 17.55 with his third-round jump, despite taking off well short of the board.

Cuba's Alexis Copello won bronze with 17.36. TOM FORDYCE BLOG We expected Idowu to go ripe bananas, but for a long time there was no reaction. He simply looked stunned. Defending champion Evora, who beat Idowu by five centimetres in Beijing, had three attempts to beat Idowu's winning jump, but could only manage a leap of 17.55 on his final attempt. Londoner Idowu, who is the defending Commonwealth Games and world indoor champion, beat his previous best of 17.68, set in 2002, although he has jumped 17.75 indoors. "It was a long time coming," said Idowu, whose medal was Britain's second of the meet, after Jessica Ennis's heptathlon gold. "I've worked hard and knew I had a big jump in me and I'm just grateful it came out at the right time. I didn't think 17.73 was going to be enough and I feel like I had more in reserve. "I just broke down in tears, it was emotional.

I was just happy, giving my thanks to God for keeping me on top. "I have to thank my coach, Aston Moore, he's been there over the last 12 months, through the ups and downs, and he's always told me I'm a great athlete. "And there's a lot more to come. Even with a gold medal now I still believe there's more in there. I still have the dream of being Olympic champion." Gold a long time coming - Idowu The last male British world champion was fellow triple-jumper Jonathan Edwards in 2001, while it is the first time since 1993 that Britain has won two golds at the same world championships. Britain's Nathan Douglas, silver medallist at the 2006 European Championships, bailed out of the final after just three jumps. In the women's 400m, Ohuruogu clocked a season's best 50.21 seconds, but she was well off the pace of old rival Richards, who ran 49.00, the fastest in the world this year.

Richards, who went off too fast in Beijing and ended up third, made a more measured start on this occasion and set the fastest time in the world this year. Shericka Williams of Jamaica finished second in 49.32, ahead of Russia's Antonina Krivoshapka in 49.71. "I don't know why it didn't happen," said defending champion Ohuruogu. "I thought I would stay in touch with the girl in lane eight, I thought she would get me round but I forgot about the rest inside me. I should have kicked earlier. Highlights - Brit runs with one shoe "The race evolves and you need to move on. You need to come out with something new so that you can challenge the others better." Kerron Clement of the United States took gold in the men's 400m hurdles with a time of 47.91, ahead of Puerto Rico's Javier Culson (48.09) and American Bershawn Jackson (48.23). Welshman Greene, competing in his first world championships, clocked 48.68, 0.41 seconds outside the personal best he set in his semi-final.

"I wanted to run faster but my body just said no," the 23-year-old said. "There was just nothing there, I had nothing left in the tank. "But for me to run 48.6 on what I call a bad day is really good. In the future I'll be looking at under 48 seconds and a shot at medals. I'm not afraid of these people. I'm ready to take on the best in the world." Marlon Devonish finished second in his 200m second-round heat, behind 2004 Olympic champion Shawn Crawford of the United States. Devonish, the 2003 world indoor champion and the only Brit in the event as a result of the withdrawals of Dwain Chambers and Toby Sandeman, clocked 20.66. Robert Tobin, Michael Bingham and Martyn Rooney all made it through to Wednesday's 400m semi-finals, as did Ireland's David Gillick. Tobin won his heat in 45.50, Rooney false started before finishing third in a quick heat with a time of 45.45, and Bingham finished second in his heat in 45.54.

Lisa Dobriskey was the only Briton to qualify for Friday's women's 1500m semi-finals as Charlene Thomas and Stephanie Twell crashed out. "It did feel quite relaxed but in the same sense really tense," said Dobriskey. "There's not much to gain by going through to the semi-finals but there's lots to lose. I'm so, so pleased to go through." There were high hopes for Thomas and Twell but both made tearful exits, Thomas after losing a shoe which was loosened when Shannon Rowbury fell. "I couldn't believe it," said Thomas. "She went down and I thought I had cleared it. My shoe was half way off my foot and I had to flick it off. It stings so much running without a shoe." Sarah Claxton, who finished eighth at the Beijing Olympics, came through her 100m hurdles heat, finishing fourth in a season's best time of 12.86. Perri Shakes-Drayton and Eilidh Child missed out on the final of the women's 400m hurdles, finishing seventh and sixth in their semi-finals respectively.

Replay - Ohuruogu misfires in 400m Bookmark with: Phillips Idowu: London gold hope will know if he's been Tamghoed | The Independent Profiles Phillips Idowu: London gold hope will know if he's been Tamghoed Great Britain's top male athlete just gets better with age, but a young French rival is keeping him on his toes as he aims for glory in 2012. Simon Turnbull talks to Phillips Idowu Sunday 19 December 2010 00:00 BST Click to follow The Independent Online It has been a pretty good year for Phillips Idowu, the Londoner who landed the World Championship triple jump crown in 2009. In 2010, at the age of 31, he has hopped, stepped and jumped to a lifetime best, 17.81 metres, and taken the main title of the year, at the European Championships in Barcelona in July, despite the emergence of a major new force in the triple jump, the prodigiously gifted young Parisian Teddy Tamgho.

As he prepares to enter the pre-Olympic year of 2011, Britain's leading male athlete must be more than satisfied with his last 12 months. "Definitely," Idowu says. "It's always a great feeling to go into a major champs and perform well. I won the title which everyone in Europe was aiming for, in a pretty difficult event. A lot of the top guys in the world in 2010 were European and the No 1 in the world was Teddy. So to go out there and put in a performance like I did, pretty much dominate the competition from start to finish, was good... I don't know what that comment about being 31 years old has got to do with anything, mind." Mention of Idowu's age is intended entirely as a compliment. He will be 32 when he defends his world title in Daegu, South Korea, next August and 33 by the time the London Olympics come round in 2012. The fact that he produced a personal best at 31 to secure his European gold showed that the Belgrave Harrier is getting better with age.

"Yeah, I've been saying that over the last couple of years," he says, having established that no ageist sleight is intended. "In my 20s I had a lot of time out with injuries and I competed at major champs carrying injuries. It's only since about 2008 that I've been able to do things a lot smarter – do the right stuff technically in training to keep myself in one piece." It was in 2008 that Idowu uprooted his training base from north London and started grafting in Birmingham, under the guidance of Aston Moore, the former international triple jumper – a veteran of the Montreal Olympics in 1976 and a Commonwealth bronze medallist in 1978 and 1982 – who moulded Ashia Hansen into a world indoor champion and world indoor record holder in the event. According to Christian Olsson, the Swede who won the Olympic triple jump title in 2004 and who is on the comeback trail following injury, Moore has played a pivotal role in Idowu's emergence as a supreme championship performer as a thirtysomething.

As he did in Barcelona in July, Idowu delivered an outdoor personal best when he won the world title in Berlin last year, eight months past his 30th birthday. "Phillips started his career not being a championship jumper and he's turned that around," Olsson says. "That's got a lot to do with his coach. If you have a good coach it points you in the right direction and Phillips has been motivated to change that pattern." Idowu acknowledges this: "I do have to take my hat off to Aston. I owe him a lot. From the age of 21, when I was emerging on the scene, everyone always said I had the ability to jump far and win titles. I just think I spent too many years in the wrong situation, doing the wrong kind of things. The ability to do what I'm doing now was always there. It just wasn't nurtured in the right way. "Aston and I have a good relationship.

Aston has the knowledge to put schedules and sessions together that work for me, keep me injury free, and make sure that I produce my best jumps when I need to produce my best jumps." Idowu can only hope that the formula keeps propelling him in a forward direction. The Londoner has won three of the four major championship titles now: world in 2009, European in 2010 and Commonwealth in 2006. He has also won the world indoor and European indoor titles. The only medal missing from his expanding collection is the most prized one of all: Olympic gold. Idowu missed it by a tantalising five centimetres in Beijing in 2008, taking silver behind Nelson Evora of Portugal. If he is to strike Olympic gold on home ground in 2012 – and, indeed, retain his world title in South Korea next summer – the Hackney man will probably need to keep on bettering himself. If he does not, the chances are that he will be Tamghoed.

He must have felt like that when he sat watching the world indoor championships from Doha on television in March, having decided to stay at home after the birth of his second child rather than defend the title he won in Valencia in 2008. With the last jump of the competition, in the final event on the final day of the championships, Tamgho announced himself as the biggest triple-jump talent since Jonathan Edwards, setting a world indoor record of 17.90m Tamgho proceeded to uncork a stunning 17.98m at the New York Diamond League meeting in June, coming within two centimetres of joining Edwards and Kenny Harrison in the 18m club. However, though the 21-year-old's ability is beyond question he has yet to find the consistency to match it. He beat Idowu in the Big Apple but then lost to him at the European Team Championships in Bergen and at the European Championships in Barcelona, managing a modest 17.45m in the latter after his preparation was hampered by a calf problem.

Since October the young Frenchman has been training at Alicante in Spain, under the guidance of Ivan Pedroso, a Cuban who won Olympic gold as a long jumper. Having spent his early years on the international scene battling against Edwards, the Gateshead Harrier who took the triple jump to a new dimension with his world record distance of 18.29m back in 1995, Idowu has suddenly found himself facing an opponent of potentially similar stature. Tamgho is his junior by 10 years and can be expected to have his best years still ahead of him. It is a rivalry that Idowu clearly relishes. "Teddy and I are great friends," he says. "He's a great athlete; anyone can see that. And he's a great kid. I speak to him often. I give him whatever advice I can, from my experience. "I've never had it easy. When Jonathan Edwards was around I had to beat the world record holder if I was going to win titles. I've never been able to rest on my laurels. When Teddy came out in the indoor season this year and jumped phenomenally well, that was inspiring.

I know I can't go out and win titles with 17.60m, 17.70m. It's not good enough. I have to make sure I'm pushing the boundaries, getting ever closer to that 18m barrier... I was going to say in order to guarantee gold medals but that might not guarantee gold medals. I'm glad it's tough in the triple jump, because when I get the gold medals it shows the calibre of athlete I am." After making the decision not to defend his Commonwealth title in Delhi this year – "because of all the media and negative press surrounding the Games" – Idowu and Moore worked out an 18-month plan, leading up to the Olympics. The schedule includes just two competitions in the 2011 indoor season: the Aviva British Grand Prix in Birmingham on 19 February and the GE Galan meet in Stockholm three days later. It does not feature a date with Tamgho in Paris at the European Indoor Championships in early March. "Sitting down with Aston, we decided that my biggest priority is to make sure that I win the gold medal in London," Idowu says. "The European indoors just doesn't fit into the plan.

It'll be great for Teddy. He's jumping in front of a home crowd. He'll probably jump well and put in a good performance but a year later he's got to come to London and compete against me in front of my home crowd. It's going to be fun. It's going to be an exciting couple of years in the triple jump." Phillips Idowu will compete at the Aviva Grand Prix in Birmingham on 19 February. For tickets, go to uka.org.uk or phone 08000 556 056 More about: Rivals can propel Bolt to new world record - The Scotsman Rivals can propel Bolt to new world record 23:04 23:30 Friday 14 August 2009 ARMS aloft, shoelaces flapping, Usain Bolt crossed the line in Beijing last year as if he had won an invitation race, not the final of the Olympic 100 metres. The ease with which he ended the race must have led many spectators to conclude the Jamaican had clocked a slow time, but in reality he had just set a new world record of 9.69 seconds.

There was obviously something to spare. If he had been pushed all the way, Bolt would surely have gone a lot faster, lowering the world mark to something close to nine and a half seconds. This weekend, as the 12th IAAF World Championships get under way in Berlin, Bolt may well be pushed all the way. If he is – and Tyson Gay and Asafa Powell are determined to do exactly that – a new world record looks inevitable. His coach, Glen Mills, believes Bolt can run 9.54sec, and the most charismatic competitor in world athletics will be a hot favourite to win the title tomorrow evening. It should be remembered, however, that Gay is actually the fastest man in the world this year with a time of 9.77sec set in Rome, although that was a mere two-hundredths of a second faster than Bolt ran a week later on a cold evening in Paris. Those two and Powell have not been in the same race so far this year, and they can be expected to spur each other on to new heights.

The others will effectively be reduced to bystanders, with qualification for the final being as much as Britain's best sprinters, Simeon Williamson and Dwain Chambers, can realistically hope for. "If I don't make the final I'll be disappointed," said Williamson, who won the British trials in 10.05 sec while running into a strong head wind. "I've been looking at the statistics and normally two people who don't run sub-ten seconds make it. I feel good, I like the 100m and the hype of being British No1. Me and my coach know what to do to be in the final – forget about everyone else. Usain doesn't start well, but if you are behind him at the start the race is really finished. Now I'm just concentrating on what I have to do." Chambers, who served a two-year ban after testing positive for the steroid THG in 2003, hopes his experience can stand him in good stead throughout the four rounds. "I feel confident about my prospects for a place in the final," the 31-year-old said.

"Once in the final anything can happen." One inspiration for the two Britons could come just ten minutes before the final, when Jessica Ennis competes in the last event of the heptathlon, the 800m. The only British athlete who has a top-three place in the current world rankings, Ennis is favourite to take gold in the seven-discipline event, from which her team-mate Kelly Sotherton and the former world champion Carolina Kluft are absent. "It will be great to be on the track, but I don't think I will be upstaging Mr Bolt," said Ennis, who missed last year's Olympics because of a stress fracture to her ankle. "It's really weird, quite surreal, to be here ranked No1 in the world going into the championships. Last year I could not imagine at that time I would be in this position. Missing a whole summer season has made me really think that I don't want to miss any opportunities. I want to make all the major championships and start winning medals. It's a big opportunity for me and I want to grab it with both hands." Ennis's hurdling is so good she has also entered the individual event, which begins on Tuesday night.

But while she is expected to go from strength to strength, the same cannot be said of the Great Britain team as a whole. When head coach Charles van Commenee announced he was aiming for five medals at the World Championships, it looked an ambitious target. And that was before the injuries started to mount up. The loss of Germaine Mason, the high jump silver medallist at last year's Olympic Games, was the culminating piece of bad news, following the withdrawals of medal hopefuls Sotherton, Tasha Danvers and Mara Yamauchi. The team have as a result travelled to Berlin with their morale somewhat short of its highest possible level, but that will change if Ennis does succeed in winning gold tomorrow night. After that, the heaviest burden of expectation will be on the shoulders of Christine Ohuruogu, the defending 400m champion, and Phillips Idowu, the triple-jumper. Ohuruogu, who also won at the Olympics last year, had a scare last month with a slight hamstring tear, but she is confident she will be able to give a good account of herself in the German capital. "I am fit, I am healthy and I am happy," she said.

Idowu, who was favourite to win in Beijing but came second, is only ranked fifth in the world in 2009, but also appears confident. "Gold has to be my target," he said. "Anything else would be disappointing." If Ohuruogu hits top form the women's 4x400m relay team could have a chance of a medal, while Paula Radcliffe will be a contender in the marathon if she comes through tomorrow's New York half-marathon safely. It will be Radcliffe's first race in ten months, and she believes she has to compete in it to have a chance of winning over the longer distance in Berlin. Tosin Oke | Profile | iaaf.org Tosin Oke Portland (Oregon Convention Center), OR 19 MAR London (Picketts Lock Indoor Arena) 28 JAN Rio de Janeiro (Estádio Olímpico) 15 AUG 2016 Portland (Oregon Convention Center), OR 19 MAR 2016 Focus on Athletes biographies are produced by the IAAF Communications Dept, and not by the IAAF Statistics and Documentation Division.

If you have any enquiries concerning the information, please use the Contact IAAF page , selecting ‘Focus on Athletes Biographies’ in the drop down menu of contact area options. Updated 27 August 2010 Tosin OKE, Nigeria (Long/Triple Jump) Born: October 1, 1980, London Lives: London Manager: John Regis Has dual British and Nigerian citizenship Tosin Oke was brought up with a combination of both Nigerian and British culture. “It enabled me to see things from a very different perspective from most of my peers,” he said. Oke attended Amhurst Primary School in Hackney, East London, and left a year early to study in Nigeria for 2 years, where he attended King's College in Lagos until 1992, then returned to London to study at a private school, Christ's College in Blackheath.

When Oke won the European Junior Championships in Riga, Latvia with a jump of 16.57m in 1999, after only two years of taking to the sport, many followers of athletics rated the then 18-year-old as the likely successor to the reigning European champion then, Jonathan Edwards - a huge weight of expectation for a teenager who came into the sport almost by accident. “I was asked by a friend of mine - Jordan - to come and help out the school at the Greenwich district championships,” Oke explains. “I said I think I can triple jump, and I duly won with 12.95m, I was 16 at the time. Then I was recruited by Mick Bond at my local club, Cambridge Harriers, and was assigned a sprints coach - Guy Spencer, my current coach. Within 4 months of being in the sport I came 2nd in the English Schools Championships and 3rd in the Nationals for my age group. Two years later in 1999, I became the European junior Champion and had jumped 16.57m. I currently still have the age 18 best, and the UK indoor record for a junior,” he added.

He reminisced what led to the invitation in the first place. “I remember being the fastest kid in my primary school, we used to always run from one side of the playground to the other. Then when I went to Nigeria, our game of choice was standing long jump and standing triple jump in our sandals, we would draw lines in the sand to mark out the current best distance. I would win most of the time. On my return to London, I became the Private Schools long jump and 400m champion at the under-13 age group. I only really started playing football at secondary school, but I was left-footed and very good at it.” Encouraged by the progress made so early in his career, he decided to give the sport a go. “When I won the European Junior Championships in 1999, I was at university and training twice a week and living a typical student lifestyle. I figured if I can jump that far with minimal commitment to the sport, I am destined to jump the World record, he said. But with Britain having a rich surplus of world class triple jumpers such as Edwards, Phillips Idowu and Onochie Achike, he found it hard to break into the team.

He finished 5th at the 2002 Commonwealth Games in Manchester, UK and 12th at the 2002 European Championships in Munich, Germany. In 2003, he came 4th at the European Cup in Florence, Italy. His 16.65m from the 2002 Commonwealth Games was his personal best for many years. In the 2004–05 season, he switched coaches, moving from his club coach Guy Spencer to work with John Herbert, the coach of Phillips Idowu and Jade Johnson. But it wasn't until August 2007 that he finally set a new personal best, jumping 16.86m at Crystal Palace in London. By 2008, many critics were now openly wondering if he would ever fulfil his potential. Moreover Christian Olsson, the Swede whom he beat as a junior in 1999, had gone on to become an European, World and Olympic champion as well as a regular 17+ jumper.

Even with Edwards now retired, he still found himself behind Idowu (2009 World champion in Berlin and 2006 Commonwealth champion in Melbourne, Australia), Achike (World Junior champion in Lisbon 1994 and Commonwealth champion 1998 in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia) and new entrant Nathan Douglas (silver medallist at the 2006 European Championships in Athletics in Göteborg) in selection order by UK Athletics and was overlooked for the 2008 Olympic Games in Beijing, China. After having been overlooked time and time again, at the age of 30, he made a decision to try his luck elsewhere, which gave his career a new lease of life. Oke changed allegiance to start competing for Nigeria, despite having previously competed for Britain, and served the mandatory notice to the IAAF. This raised eyebrows in some quarters and some critics ignorantly questioned the motivation of his change of 'nationality' late in his career. “I am Nigerian, it was never a change of nationality - if I changed to represent Qatar, that would be a change of nationality,” he explained. “I always wanted to do all of the major events for Britain, and do them all for Nigeria as well.

Due to injuries in the early part of my career, I was unable to achieve my goal of going to the World Championships or the Olympic Games. The real turning point came when I qualified for the World Championships in 2007 and the head of UKA did not select me on the team. I know there was a sinister agenda going on, so I decided that I would have to make the move away from that environment, to the country of my origin.” Oke quickly settled into his new environment and unlike other athletes making such transition, having lived in Europe or America most of their lives, refused to moan and whine about the set-up on the ground and he would not also be dragged into endless comparison with what he was used to in the UK. “Obviously, UK Athletics is an organisation that's been around for many years,” he said. “They've got 20 different levels of funding, PR, the whole structure is very complicated. Yet, they are centralised. There is only one boss. He knows what's going on. There is no last minute changes so to speak etc. I mean, it's what it is, I am not going to judge what people do. People do their jobs, I am an athlete.

My job as an athlete is to produce the goods on the day, to turn up for training and to try and qualify and represent the team. All the others will do the administration [work], they do their administration but I just do my job as an athlete.” Oke represented Nigeria at the 2009 World Championships in Athletics, in Berlin, setting a personal best 16.87m. He said he was proud to wear the colours and happy to be back competing on the world stage, which justified his decision to change in the first place. “Athletics ultimately is individual. Essentially it does not really matter what team you compete for, it's about how good you are on the day compared to the rest of the world, just beating the best of the world - that's what athletes are subscribed to,” he explained. “Certainly from the UK, a lot of people understand why I moved and a lot of people are thinking about it, but I think a lot of people are scared of Africa. That's the mindset of a lot of people and that's a mindset that needs to change.

Obviously, my skin is not European, my skin is African so I have done some time for Europe and it's time to come back home and do my thing for Africa.” With his appearance on the global stage in Berlin and new status once again as one of the world's triple jump elite, Oke started 2010 on a high. In January at the Aviva International Match in Glasgow, representing the Commonwealth, Oke laid down the marker as he took triple jump victory in an indoor PB of 16.73m, which ranked him equal fifth on the world rankings as at 30 January. By February, appearing as a guest at the Aviva World Trials and UK Indoor Championships at the English Institute of Sports (EIS) in Sheffield, he won the men’s' triple jump event and improved his personal best in his 2nd attempt with a leap of 16.76m. Later that month, at the Aviva Grand Prix in Birmingham, he improved his Indoor PB to 16.87m and only failed by eight centimetres to make the qualifying 'A' standard for the World Indoor Championships in Doha in March.

At the onset of the outdoor season in June, Oke produced a Man of the Match performance of 17.05m to win the men's triple jump at the first Premiership match of the 2010 British Athletics League, held at the Barnet Copthall Stadium in Hendon, North London. He further improved on that to win the African Athletics Championships in Nairobi in July with a new personal best of 17.22m and was elated about being an African champion for the first time. “I am a continental champion which is a wonderful achievement, also it qualifies me for the World Championships next year automatically which is great,” said Oke. “My performance would have placed 4th at the European Championships and won the CAC Champs, but more importantly, it has put African triple jumping back on the global map. Tumelo Thagane has also jumped over 17m this year and there are two other guys Hugo Mamba-Schlick & Roger Haitengi, that are knocking on the door.

Personally, I plan to go from strength to strength, and want to start jumping 17.50m plus on a regular basis, to start challenging on a global level.” So, what are his interests outside of athletics and what are Tosin's aspirations, professionally? “Professionally, I work as a personal trainer and I am trained as an osteopath, so I plan to be involved in the fitness and health industry for the rest of my career. I eventually want to open a form of holistic training centre or organisation where I can pass on my knowledge and experience, combined with cutting edge research and world class therapists providing their services,” he explained. “Athletics wise, I want to jump very, very far. I know that when I do this I will win medals, as my mentality is all about planning to win, and executing the plan. I am very interested in reading, gaining knowledge on everything, especially African history and holistic lifestyles. Also I spend a lot of time working on my spiritual development as I think it is the most important thing about life as we know it. Other than that, I try to travel a lot to visually experience other cultures,” he added.

Oke says “winning the European Junior Championships in 1999, making the Commonwealth Games & European Championships teams in 2002, working with coach John Herbert from 2004-2008, jumping 17m for the first time in June this year and of course, winning the African Championships in Nairobi” are his career highlights so far. He also enumerated both his short- and long-term goals and objectives on and off the track. “In the short term, I want to continue jumping 17m regularly and I want to jump well at the World Cup and the Commonwealth Games. Long term, I want to win medals on the global level and I am making plans to make this a reality. Off the track, I am planning to move to a warmer country to help my training, as well as to exploit other work and financial avenues that will be available.” As the reigning African triple jump champion, Tosin Oke will represent the continent at the IAAF Continental Cup in Split, Croatia early next month.

Personal Bests Learn and talk about Phillips Idowu, Alumni of Brunel University, Athletes (track and field) at the 2000 Summer Olympics, Athletes (track and field) at the 2002 Commonwealth Games, Athletes (track and field) at the 2004 Summer Olympics Career[ edit ] Idowu grew up in Hackney , [3] and was a talented sportsman at school in both basketball and American football , yet he was most successful as a junior in athletics. In 1997 he came to attention as a triple jumper when he won the English Schools Championships and the under-20s AAA title, rounding off the year by coming fourth in the European Junior Championships . [4] Idowu's success continued in 2000, when he was ranked in the top 10 triple jumpers in the world and placed sixth in the 2000 Olympic Games . In 2001 he won the European Cup , though later that year his form was found wanting at the World Championships in Edmonton .

His first major international medal came when he won silver at the 2002 Commonwealth Games , setting a new personal best of 17.68 metres but losing to world record holder and compatriot Jonathan Edwards . Later in 2002 he placed 5th in the European Championships . [5] Injury[ edit ] A knee injury that required surgery ruled Idowu out of the whole 2003 season. His aim was to return to form in 2004 to compete at the Olympic Games in Athens . [7] Championship success[ edit ] In March 2006, Idowu triumphed at the Commonwealth Games in Melbourne , winning gold. However, he failed to maintain this form and once again finished in 5th place at the European Championships later that year. In 2007, in the absence of world leader Christian Olsson , Idowu beat compatriot Nathan Douglas to gold in the European Indoor Championships in Birmingham. He recorded a championship record jump of 17.56 m, beating Olsson's world-leading jump by 12 cm.

[8] Idowu went on to win the IAAF Golden League Bislett Games in June 2007 with a distance of 17.35 m. By July 2007 he was ranked the number three triple jumper in the world, a new career high. On 9 March 2008, Idowu won his first world title, taking the gold medal at the 2008 IAAF World Indoor Championships in Valencia , Spain. His jump of 17.75 m also broke the British and Commonwealth Indoor record previously held by his compatriot and former adversary Jonathan Edwards, who presented him with his medal at the ceremony. Despite his successes at the Indoor Championships and Commonwealth Games, Idowu decided to change coach, switching from John Herbert to 1982 Commonwealth Games medalist Aston Moore . Reflecting on his choice, Idowu stated: "now is the right time to make a change as I develop and move forward".

[9] Idowu on the way to his first World Championships title in 2009 with a broken arm Idowu won the men's triple jump title at the 2008 British Olympic Trials with a distance of 17.58 m, at the time the longest outdoor jump of 2008. He followed this up with further jumps of 17.57 m and 17.27 m. [10] [11] Idowu took silver in the men's triple jump at the 2008 Beijing Olympics behind World Champion Nelson Évora after arriving at the games as the favourite. His best jump was 17.62 m, achieved in the third round. In an interview with Reuters, Idowu expressed disappointment at having won only silver, though he displayed good humour and also looked forward to the next Olympics in London. [12] At the start of the 2009 athletics season, Idowu missed the opportunity to defend his European Indoor title as he was suffering from a knee injury.

[13] On Tuesday 18 August 2009 he finally fulfilled his potential by winning the World Championships in Berlin with the longest jump of anyone so far this year and an outdoors personal best distance of 17.73 m, again having his medal presented by Jonathan Edwards. [14] In July 2010 he broke his triple jump personal best jumping 17.81 metres at the Barcelona European Athletics Championships to win gold. [15] Idowu was appointed Member of the Order of the British Empire (MBE) in the 2011 Queen's Birthday Honours "for services to athletics". [16] [17] 2012 Summer Olympics[ edit ] Idowu was battling for fitness coming into the 2012 Summer Olympics in his native London, and had not jumped competitively for nearly three months. Idowu struggled and could not make it past the qualifying round of the triple jump, ending his hopes of a medal.

[18] [19] 2013–14[ edit ] After receiving leg surgery in autumn 2012, Idowu continued to struggle with fitness and form during 2013. In July 2013 he announced that he was "taking a step back" from the sport "for the foreseeable future", a step that some interpreted as tantamount to retirement. [20] However, Idowu returned to top-level international competition at the Shanghai Diamond League meeting in May 2014, after a spell of training and competition in Australia. [21] Personal life[ edit ] Idowu is known to the public for his eccentric personality, sporting a variety of hair colours, an array of facial piercings and trademark booming laugh. Other than triple jump, Idowu also enjoys basketball. [22] He has three daughters, D'Karma (born 2007), Infini (born 2014), and his third daughter Aria (born 2015). He also has a son, Prince (born 2010).

[23] In 2013, Idowu joined Jack Dee , Dara Ó Briain , Greg James , Mel C and Chelsee Healey in Through Hell and High Water, a Comic Relief challenge which involved British celebrities canoeing the most difficult rapids of the Zambezi River . They raised over one £1 million for the charity. He also appeared in the 2013 edition of Celebrity MasterChef , being eliminated in the second round. In 2013 Idowu was banned from driving for two years and ordered to complete 50 hours community service after being caught drink driving by police. [24] Original courtesy of Wikipedia: — Please support Wikipedia. This page uses Creative Commons Licensed content from Wikipedia . A portion of the proceeds from advertising on Digplanet goes to supporting Wikipedia. We're sorry, but there's no news about "Phillips Idowu" right now. Limit to books that you can completely read online Include partial books (book previews) Oops, we seem to be having trouble contacting Twitter Support Wikipedia A portion of the proceeds from advertising on Digplanet goes to supporting Wikipedia. Please add your support for Wikipedia! Searchlight Group Digplanet also receives support from Searchlight Group.

Visit Searchlight Copyright © 2009-2017 Digparty. All rights reserved. World Athletics day-by-day - BBC Sport World Athletics day-by-day British Medal winners: Day one: Saturday 27 August Big event: Usain Bolt, who set the world record of 9.58 seconds in his last World Championships 100m two years ago, Media playback is not supported on this device Cram on Ohuruogu, Bolt and Farah Brit watch: Former world and current Olympic champion Christine Ohuruogu was The 27-year-old later wrote on Twitter that it had been "a tough day to cap off a tough season." What else? Kenya took the first four places in the women's 10,000m final with Vivian Cheruiyot adding the title to her success in the 5,000m in Berlin two years previously. Day two: Sunday 28 August Big event: After making leisurely progress to the 100m final the day before, Usain Bolt was Fellow Jamaican Yohan Blake took the title in a time of 9.92 seconds.

Media playback is not supported on this device Cram on Farah, Bolt and Brits Brit watch: Great Britain's Mo Farah came into the championships as the fastest man in the world this year, but was by Ethiopia's Ibrahim Jeilan. What else? Bob Hersh, vice-president of international athletics' governing body the IAAF, in the wake of Bolt's absence from the 100m final. Day three: Monday 29 August Big event: More controversy at the Championships as Olympic champion and world record holder Dayron Robles is Robles crossed the line first, but the Chinese claim he made contact with their star hurdler Liu Xiang over the final flight of barriers. Jason Robinson of the United States is promoted to gold medal position with Xiang second and Great Britain's Andy Turner third. Brit watch: In addition to Turner's bronze medal, establishing a lead of 151 points over Tatyana Chernova at the event's halfway point. What else?

South African Oscar Pistorius, the first amputee to race in the championships, Day four: Tuesday 30 August Big Event: Teenager Kirani James upstaged American defending champion LaShawn Merritt to win Grenada's first world championship medal with Brit watch: A disappointing showing in the javelin costs Jessica Ennis the lead in the penultimate event of the heptathlon and What else? The so-called "cover curse" continues as Russian pole vaulter Yelena Isinbayeva becomes the fourth athlete - after Steve Hooker, Usain Bolt and Dayron Robles - to disappoint after featuring as the main image on the cover of the daily programme in Daegu. Day five: Wednesday 31 August Big Event: Olga Kaniskina won a third successive gold in the day's only event - the women's 20 kilometre walk. Brit watch: Middlesbrough-born Jo Jackson finished 23rd, though that was better than her showing in 2009 when she was disaqualified in the Berlin World Championships. What else? Kaniskina broke the "cover curse". "I didn't even realise that had been the case for the other athletes," she said.

"I'd like to thank everyone for not telling me about it before the race." Day six: Thursday 1 September Big event: Great Britain's Dai Greene added the world title to his European and Commonwealth crowns with victory in a high-quality 400m hurdles final. of Puerto Rican Javier Culson and South Africa's L.J van Zyl. Brit watch: In addition to Greene's victory, team-mate Hannah England took silver in her first major championships in the 1500m. What else? Triple jumper Yamila Aldama finished a creditable fifthin the triple jump on her debut for Great Britain at the age of 39. She has previously represented Cuba and Sudan. Day seven: Friday 2 September Big event: Jenny Meadows was hoping to finish on the podium for the fifth consecutive major championships in the women's 800m, but after looking in complete control for 700m of her semi-final she found herself in the last 100m and was eventually pushed into third. Only the first two qualified automatically, and she just missed out on one of the fastest losers' spots.

Brit watch: A clearly injured Chris Tomlinson and Goldie Sayers disappointed in the long jump and javelin finals respectively, while Christian Malcolm could not progress from his 200m semi-final. And GB's 4x400m team, hopeful of a bronze despite 400m hurdles champion Dai Greene's absence, came sixth. On a brighter note, of the triple jump with his first leap. What else? Despite being left out of their 4x400m team for the final, 'Blade-runner' Oscar Pistorius as a member of South Africa's relay squad. In doing so, he became the first Paralympian to win a medal at an able-bodied world championships. Usain Bolt easily in just 20.31s to qualify for the 200m final. Day eight: Saturday 3 September Big event: Usain Bolt eased to victory in the 200m final , running an impressive 19.40 seconds - the third-fastest time ever - to make up for the disappointment of his 100m final. Silver went to with American Walter Dix with Frenchman Christophe Lemaitre taking bronze.

Brit watch: American-born Tiffany Ofili-Porter finished an agonising fourth in the 100m hurdles final behind Australia's Sally Pearson. Ofili-Porter improved her own British record in the semi-finals with a new time of 12.56 seconds but was unable to recover from hitting the ninth hurdle in the final. What else? The British women's 4x400m relay team - featuring both Ohuruogu and Perri Shakes-Drayton - finished fourth in their final behind the United States, Jamaica and Russia. The GB quartet, which also included Lee McConnell and Nicola Sanders, clocked a time of 3:23.63 but would have needed a new UK record to make it onto the podium. Day nine: Sunday 4 September Big event: Mo Farah made up for the disappointment of being pipped for the 10,000m by winning the 5,000m in 13 minutes, 23.36 seconds and claim Britain's second gold medal of the Championships. Brit watch: Phillips Idowu was unable to retain the triple jump world title he won in Berlin in 2009.

His jump of 17.77m was his season's best, but it was beaten by 21-year-old American Christian Taylor , who lept to an incredible distance of 17.96m, the fifth best of all time. What else? Germany's Betty Heidler, who broke the world record this year, was beaten in the final of the women's hammer by Russian Tatyana Lysenko with a throw of 77.13m and Caster Semenya was unable to defend her 800m world crown and had to settle for silver behind Mariya Savinova of Russia. The USA won the women's 4x100m relay and the Jamaicans - including Usain Bolt - set a new world record of 37.04secs to win the men's 4x100m , in which the USA and Britain failed to finish after a collision that resulted in each failing to pass the baton in the final exchange. Share this page

Question: In August 2009, British athlete, Philip Idowu, won the World Title in Berlin in which event?
Answer: TRIPLE JUMP